


Learning How To Breathe

by Anonymous



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Sixth Sense Fusion, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 07:46:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16193183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Yuffie has a problem. It's not bad enough she's caught up in a quest to save the world from a long-haired maniac. Nope. She can also hear dead people.[Written in 2006-2007. Discontinued. Anonymous for a reason.]





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> If you recognize this fic from FF.net, and remember the author, _please_ don't contact me. This is anonymous for a reason.

Mother used to tell me I’d have strong ties to the spiritual. Well, _told._ As in once, while we were fleeing the SOLDIERs That Night.

I don’t like to think of that. So, I put it in any memory before That Night, and say it happened then, and then, and then, any night but That Night—

But she was right. I’ve inherited the full measure of the Spirit Sight from both the Kisaragi and the Suijindo families, though _sight_ is a misleading name for it. In any case, that’s why I spent my time in the forest, as there was less to feel there than in any of the cities or towns I had ever been to. It’s also why I hate riding in boats, but for a different reason.

I wish now that I hadn’t left Wutai, because then I probably would have gotten training on what is basically the essence of _thousands_ of people who lived and died affecting my judgment a _lot_ sooner than I ended up getting it.

I never told Cloud and the others, but I had been to Nibelheim before—just briefly, a short stop when I was eleven—nearly twelve—and had just left home. Nibelheim was in the process of being rebuilt—I remember entering, and seeing the almost frantic looks exchanged between the people working. I was a bit frantic myself, because I looked at them, and knew without knowing that they were from Shinra.

Uncomfortable, they offered me a place in one of the women’s tents, and I accepted. The woman who I was going to be sharing with spun a tall tale of a fire that burnt down the village—“but no one was hurt, thank God”—and in return I gave her a sob story about how my parents had died, and my evil aunt didn’t want me except to work as an unpaid servant, so I ran away from home. She didn’t believe me and I didn’t believe her.

I’d spent dinner listening to them talking, and excused myself as soon as I had finished eating. Wandering around the village, I naturally approached the only standing building. Standing by the wrought-iron gate, I looked up at it, smoke stained and broken, and shivered. The wind had picked up, and was practically howling out of the mountain gorge.

If I had to put a moment on when the ability to hear spirits kicked in, I would say it was _then._ It had been growing for sometime, but it really started when I was in _that place_.

Staring up at the cracked façade and the broken windows, I could hear someone screaming. I could hear choked gasps, whimpers, and someone chanting brokenly, **shinra. Shinra. Shinra, shinra, shinrashinrashinra _shinra_.**

Someone whimpered **save me, _please_** and then said defiantly **I don’t _want_ to be saved** , but I could _hear_ under that self-hatred and **I don’t _deserve_ to be saved**.

There was pain and death and horror and it was _this place_ and I could hear faint echoes of someone saying **I’m marrying _him_** and **I’m pregnant** and **I’m dying** all at once. Shattered images of people, white coats and children and guns and _oh god he shot me_ and mothers locked within glass prisons. Someone said **you deserve this** and **it’ll show the world what you _really_ are** and **I’ll lock you here and you’ll never get out, _never_** and then there was someone else speaking, **I deserve this, I’m a monster, horrible horrible didn’t stop her didn’t save her _Lucrecia forgive me please, please oh god I’m so sorry_.**

There was fire and agony and hatred and **thieves, usurpers, I’ll kill you all and mother and I will rule** and **out of my way, I’m going to mother** and **you’re still sane, aren’t you?** and **he _killed_ you, father I’ll avenge you, I will I will I will.**

And through it all I could hear someone’s heart beating, slow and steady like they were sleeping, and then it sped up, as if they were about to wake—

Then one of the older men called out to me, and I shook out of my trance, turning to face him. I didn’t know it _then_ , but looking back on it now, if he hadn’t called then, I probably would have gone mad. Or died. Or both.

It’s not a happy thought.

But this was never a happy talent, because there are people from _both_ sides of my family who were overwhelmed and went nutso. Completely crazy, off their rocker, all that fun stuff.

“Girlie, you don’t want to go in there,” he said, a calculating gleam in his eyes. “They say it’s haunted.”

I stared at him for a few seconds, shivering. The whole _town_ reeked of death and pain and betrayal and **he’s a _hero_ , why is he _doing this?_**

“I—I need to l-leave,” I was finally able to say, stuttering. I could feel the desperation for revenge and pain and **_why did you do it?_ Give back my mother, my hometown my friends my family _everything I ever knew_**.

I had to get out, I had to _leave_ , I was on edge of madness and dancing on a wire over an abyss of fire and rage and cold cool dispassionate _inhuman_ logic.

I turned, then, and ran, fleeing from the voices and the agony and **what _are_ you?!** and _screaming, falling into green light_ and pain and **take them to the mansion, I could use some new specimens**. I fled, leaving behind everything I had with me in the tent of a Shinra employee and knowing only I had to leave before something happened that I couldn’t handle.

I came to myself again hours later, huddled in between the roots of a tree, quivering and shaking and remembering Mother’s words on _That Night_ , of how to build a wall between myself and the world, and how it wouldn’t stop everything but the old horrors would fade, leaving only the newer ones to haunt me. I trembled, reciting her words to myself and focused, doing the best I could with the little reserves I had, pushing away the _memories—_ finally I pushed myself to my feet, feeling sick and weak. I didn’t know where I was, but there was that slow and steady heartbeat in the back of my mind, and I knew if I followed that I would be able to find my way back to Nibelheim from anywhere.

I went back, finding the town still and silent and abandoned. I grabbed my bag and fled again, thankful the tents weren’t in the town _itself_. I slipped out again, leaving that place behind me and vowing that I would never never _never_ step foot there again. I stumbled into Cosmo Canyon just after noon, exhausted and aching, eyes burning whenever I shut them.

It was more peaceful there, but there was still pain and hatred and envy and **father I hate you, you abandoned us and mother died it’s all your fault I hate you I hate you _I hate you_**.

I left as soon as I was rested, traveling to Gongaga, but there was more pain and agony and **why did it explode, there’s no reason for that to have happened**.

I fled, and spent the next months traveling, stopping at North Corel— **it’s all _his_ fault** —The Gold Saucer— **you _know_ you want to** —Costa del Sol— **they say he’s a _scientist,_ isn’t that so _sexy_?** —jumping onto a ship to Junon— **it’s all Shinra’s fault, they’ve ruined _everything_ they touch** —and finally stopping in one of the forests, where the only memory clinging to it was **oh god, I’ve never done this in a _forest_ before**.

That remnant faded as I lived there, running off instinct and intuition, eroding the support of it day by day until it collapsed, leaving only _me_ in its place.

It was the most free I’d ever felt.


	2. Out of the Forest

I spent almost four years in that forest before my life changed again. I always ran people out as soon as they entered, because I didn’t want _any_ taint of memories in the one place I’d found sanctuary in. It was all I could do at times to survive, but I managed somehow. Maybe that’s why I’m so short now, even for being from Wutai—I didn’t eat well enough while I was _really_ growing, so I didn’t grow very much.

Well, it makes sense to _me_.

So that was my life: eat, sleep, save my skin from monsters, and harass hapless travelers. I didn’t harass them _so_ much that any mobs came after me, though.

And then, years after I had made it my home, a group entered but _there was no sense they would affect me_. There was only peace and tranquility and **won’t you come out and speak to us?**

I almost obeyed until I realized that _oh_ gawd _it was a_ lie _and they_ were _affecting me, I would have to_ leave _they’d_ poisoned _my safe place, my sacred place—_

I attacked them.

The fight raged, three against one— **please, we don’t want to fight** —unfairly balanced in their direction— **just let me talk to you!** —and made worse by the fact I couldn’t think straight because— **please, stop fighting, I _don’t want to hurt you_** —I was lost and scared and _hurting_.

And finally a lucky blow hit me, and I collapsed, dizzy and black spots swimming through my head and before my eyes and someone speaking—“Cloud, wait, let me talk to her”—and a cool hand rested on my forehead.

 **I know it hurts, but try to calm down,** I heard but _didn’t_ hear.

“ _No,_ ” I whimpered, trying to pull away. “Get _out_ , go away, leave me _alone_.”

“Aeris—” A man’s voice, worried.

“It’s alright, Cloud,” the person kneeling next to me said. I forced my eyes open and looked up at her. Green eyes and brown hair and a kind face, and I pushed myself away from her, knowing that she was the one who was _speaking_ to me. **I can help you** , she said.

“ _No!_ Go _away!_ ” She reached one hand out and I recoiled. “Get _out of my mind_ , go away, go away go away go _away_. Leave me _alone._ ”

“It’s alright,” she replied soothingly, “I know how you feel.”

“You don’t, you _can’t,_ go _away_ I don’t want you here.” I could feel tears welling up, why wouldn’t she _leave?_

“I’ve been through what you’re dealing with. I can help you. Please, let me help.”

I stared at her, tears running down my face. She knelt on the ground, one hand outstretched towards me. Uncertainly, I reached out and touched it, and _oh gawd_ , walls sprung up, surrounded me, shielding me from the burning touch of _everything_. I was _alone_ in my own mind. I was _free_.

I stared at her until it finally sunk in, and I flung myself into her waiting arms to sob in relief.

Eventually I pulled away, smiling brightly. “ _Thank you,_ oh, gawd, thank you _so much_. I’ll repay you, I don’t know how, but I _will_ —oh, _gawd_ I have to go _home_ it’s been years—”

“Go, Yuffie. All you need to do to repay me is to help us when you’ve visited your home.” With that she stood and walked back to her companions, brushing her skirt off as she went. I scrambled to my feet and rushed off to my small, ramshackle little hut, built against the side of a tree. I rushed through packing, my heart lighter then it had been in years. No need to worry about the death and fear and **Listen to me** ** _carefully_ , Yuffie**—and _short thick fingers wrapped around my throat—_

I shivered, but I shoved it away—it was past, it wouldn’t happen again. I was _going_ home and I wouldn’t have to worry about the thousands and thousands of shades of emotions and memories that everything was soaked in, that this world had been steeped in, a thousand flavors of pain and anguish and everything that was wrong in the universe. I was going _home_. I could argue with my father and annoy Shake and climb to the top of Da Chao, and even if I were to fall _I wouldn’t care_.

_I was going home._


	3. Triumphant Return

I made tracks as fast as I could to Junon, and got myself on one of the few ships that skirted around the bottom of the Western Continent and went to Rocket Town. That took _days_ , and I was sick for most of that time—gawd, what Aeris had done blocked pretty much _everything_ except the physical effects of those remnants of people. I don’t remember when I realized that I knew her name and she’d known mine without being introduced, but I felt that somehow I’d met her before, even though I _knew_ I hadn’t. It didn’t bother me, for some reason.

After we hit the shore near Rocket Town, I spent one _wonderful_ night on solid ground before heading back to sea, this time on a Wutain trading ship. Another day and I was _home._

* * *

I don’t know what I’d been expecting—that the fact his daughter and only heir was missing would inspire my father to pull Wutai out of the downhill spiral it was in—but, if anything, my little hometown was even _more_ of a tourist trap then it had been when I left almost four years ago.

I waited until a pair of tourists had left one of the fancily dressed women near the entrance, then approached her. Her eyebrows rose as she took in my appearance—not as clean as I’d like, after a solid week of sailing and only being able to have cold water baths during those years in the forest—have you ever tried to get water in a stream heated up without a bucket or a place to heat it up? Yeah, _you’d_ wash right in the stream, _too_.

“Do you know where Lord Godo might be at the moment?” I asked politely in my native language— _yes,_ I _can_ be polite—I didn’t live in that forest my _whole_ life!

“He is most often in the Padoga at this time,” she replied, a hopeful smile lighting her face. “Traveler, do you bring news of the young Lady Kisaragi?”

I smiled widely. “I _do_ bring news of her.”

She bowed formally to me, and I could hear a camera clicking, and some kid (a snot-nosed bratty little boy from the sound of it) asking why the fancy lady was bowing to the scruffy _girl_. “Go, then, and Leviathan speed your feet. He has almost given up hope.”

I went, because even when we had our disagreements, he was my _father_ and he was almost sure I was _dead_ —

_—short fingers, thick and cold and choking the breath from me—_

I shook that out of my memory. I wouldn’t let _anything_ get me down. I was _home_ , for the first time in practically four years, and I was _here_ , I could come whenever I wanted, and nothing would haunt me except what I had been through. I could live with that.

I _had_ lived with that.

I burst into the first floor of the Padoga, and two people looked up in surprise. I waved merrily at Gorki and called out a cheeky insult to Shake before dashing lightly for the stairs. Behind me I could hear a surprised exclamation of my name, and all I could do was _smile_ and keep running, because I couldn’t stand having to _walk_.

The other floors were empty until I reached the fifth, my father’s, and there were the others—kneeling beside my father— _my father!_ —and I barely stopped to take them in before looking at him. He was staring at me like I was a ghost, and he slowly stood, looking like he didn’t dare to hope I was _home_.

“Father,” I said, dropping to my knees and going into the _full_ bow to the ruler, palms flat against the floor and forehead _maybe_ an inch above them.

I heard footsteps approaching me, and then someone kneeling in front of me. I remained in the bow until a shaking hand rested upon my shoulder, and then I looked up to meet my father’s eyes. “Yuffie?” He seemed shaken—of course, before I’d left I had rarely acknowledged his position—but he was my _father_ and it’d been four years and I felt I _had_ to do this right, errant heir returning home after _four years_.

I nodded, and then couldn’t help it—I leapt at him and hugged him, _the first time in four years_ —crowing that he’d better believe it, _I was back_.

* * *

It took hours before we actually were able to sit down and talk—for the longest time, the second we looked at each other, we’d burst into tears or laughter or _both_ —I was _home_ —and all I wanted to do was cling to him like I hadn’t done since I was _five_ and know that I was _back_ , and I didn’t have to fear being trapped away again.

Finally, though, we pulled back from each other and settled in to talk. Checkhov had brought tea, and replaced it whenever it cooled, so when we _did_ finish our reunion we had hot jasmine tea waiting for us.

I sipped the tea and closed my eyes in bliss at the taste. Four years of nothing but spring water caused it to taste strong to me, and I had missed it—one of many things that had been missing from my life in the forest.

My dad chose that moment to ask his first question. “Yuffie, where have you been? You’d left a note, but when you never returned I had feared—” he fell silent, and he looked down to contemplate the floor.

“I went to find a way to bring our pride back to Wutai,” I replied, looking at my hands holding the teacup. “I had barely left before— _something—_ changed. I heard—memories. Voices. Echoes of feelings.

“I… it had been too much—I couldn’t find anywhere that wasn’t overwhelming to me. I found myself in a forest with no way out that didn’t hold the fear of going mad.”

“The Spirit Sight,” he sighed. “I wish I had known—I would have sent someone to help you find a way to lock the voices away. No. I would have gone _myself_.”

“It wouldn’t have helped—I couldn’t bear to have _anyone_ near me. I would have driven you away.”

My father looked up, and shock filled his eyes. “It is that strong within you?” When I nodded, he looked down in sorrow. “Your mother and I knew that any children we had would be powerful, but I never thought…”

“You never thought what?” He shook his head, and I knew I shouldn’t be this angry, but I _was_. I’d spent _four years_ in a forest and he wouldn’t tell me _why_. “Tell me, old man!”

“Old man! Show respect for your elders, child!”

"I'll show _you_ respect when you show _me_ you deserve it!"

A pause drew out, and then he started chuckling, and soon we were laughing, rolling on the floor in mirth and the world was right and I was _home_.

“Oh, Yuffie, we haven’t changed a bit, have we?” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. I grinned and shook my head.

“No doubt we’d still get into arguments about what to cook for dinner,” I replied, recalling the epic battles of who was going to cook what.

“Yuffie…” Dad’s face sobered. “You aren’t going to stay, are you?”

I looked down. His sigh when I remained silent was regretful.

“…Very well. I can’t try to keep you locked up. You have grown so much, and if I tried to keep you here, you would escape, and probably never return.

“All I can ask is… be safe.”

I straightened myself and bowed to him. “As my Lord orders.”

“You are the best daughter I could ever wish for. I am very proud to be able to call you my heir.”

I beamed at him.

“Now, when do you need to leave? When are you expected to rejoin your companions?”

“Well… uh, I need to be at Cosmo Canyon in three days, so I can stay for tomorrow… and I don’t know for sure they’ll let me go with them. Aeris—she’s the one who helped me—she asked me to come help them, but I don’t think she’s the leader… But yeah. Cosmo Canyon in three days.” I paused. How had I _known_ they would be there? I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was just as true as the fact that my name is Yuffie Kisaragi.

“Very well…” he sounded resigned, but then he cheered up. “You will have to bring this Aeris and her friends. We will throw a festival for the ones who returned you to us.”

I nodded, grinning. “Are we going to have gong-beaters?”

He blinked. “I thought you had grown out of your fascination with the gong players?”

“I _have_. I don’t think Aeris or that other girl with them have seen a proper Wutain festival, though.” I grinned even more widely, and my father chuckled.


	4. Introductions

I was kneeling before Leviathan’s Throne, looking up at the gold-covered carvings that covered all of the walls. A carving of Leviathan’s head seemed to rest its chin on the back of the chair. I started at it, the pearls that were the eyes gleaming in the light of the candle I had brought with me.

I could remember how I had been in this same position the night I had left, gazing up to see the empty sockets in his Crown, where our pride—the Materia that Shinra had stolen—had once been. Leviathan seemed to be looking down at me disapprovingly— _you have forgotten your vow, child_ —and I shivered before bowing— **I, Yuffie Kisaragi, swear upon Leviathan’s Crown that I will find Materia to fill the void left by those that Shinra stole** —and rested my forehead against the ground.

“ _I have not forgotten my vow._ I _will_ restore Wutai to its former glory, no matter _what_ it takes.”

* * *

Waving frantically at the ship that had taken me there, I shouted one last message back to Checkhov— _“Tell the old man to get Wutai out of tourism!”_ —before starting along the path to Cosmo Canyon. Dad had wanted to come himself, but I had insisted he stay—“What if the _ship_ sank? Then I’d have to rule, and oh _gawd_ what a bore!”—so he had sent Checkhov instead.

One thing that bothered me was that the heartbeat had gotten louder— _sure_ , okay, it had gotten louder before, when I was on my _oh-so-fun_ boat trip to Rocket Town, but I had been sick then and therefore hadn’t focused on it much—but _now_ I was on solid ground, and it was _loud_ —well, yeah, _hello_ , Yuffie, you’re near _Nibelheim—_

I traveled by foot to the entrance of Cosmo Canyon, making good time for the terrain I had to cover. Hiking up the stairs that lead to it—good _gawd_ I could learn to hate stairs—I found Aeris waiting for me at the entrance.

“Yuffie,” she said in greeting, a warm smile on her face. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Hi, Aeris,” I replied, and then paused. What do you _say_ to someone you’ve only met once before? I’d been living in a _forest_ for four years. I was _way_ behind on being able to socialize.

She laughed, but it wasn’t directed towards me—it seemed to be more at _herself_. “No, we didn’t get very well introduced, did we? I’m Aeris Gainsborough.”

“I’m Yuffie Kisaragi,” I replied, bowing without any real conscious thought. It was ingrained in everyone from Wutai that when you introduce yourself, you _bow._ It’s just how it is. Of course, when I looked up, Aeris had a thoughtful look on her face.

“You’re from Wutai, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah,” I replied, a bit startled.

Aeris bowed a bit awkwardly—I _really_ startled that someone who looked like she never did anything ungracefully _could_ —and spoke in badly pronounced Wutainese, “I am pleased to meet you.”

I gaped at her, but before I could reply, she shook her head. “That’s all I know, really. Zack, my old boyfriend, was a genius with languages. He taught me how to say a few things, but it’s been… a long time.” She looked off into the distance for a few seconds before a smile returned to her lips, but she had looked so _sad_ for that brief moment. “But, come on. Let’s go to the Cosmo Candle, everyone’s waiting there.”

I followed her, suddenly feeling awkward again. With Aeris, I knew I didn’t have to worry about acting weird—it was going to happen, and it was inevitable—but I was walking towards a group of unknown people, and I didn’t think they would be as understanding as Aeris would. They probably _couldn’t_. I followed her towards a large campfire, and the group of five that was seated around it.

“Wait, Aeris—” I couldn’t meet her eyes when she turned to face me, and continued, blurting out my thoughts as they happened. “I can’t talk to them, please don’t make me—they’re going to _hate_ me, they aren’t going to _understand_ —oh, gawd _please don’t make me go._ ”

“Yuffie, look at me.” I shook my head, and Aeris touched my shoulder. “Yuffie, I’ve already told them that they need to listen to what you have to say. I know that Red, at least, will listen to you. Please come? I won’t ask you to come with us if you still don’t feel comfortable.”

“I… All right.”

I followed her up the small steps to the platform the fire was on, cringing when I came under the gaze of the people seated there.

“Everyone, this is Yuffie,” Aeris announced, gently pushing me forward a step.

“U-um, hi,” I said, barely catching myself before I bowed. There might be someone from Midgar here, and I was sure that Shinra had spread a lot of propaganda against Wutai during the war.

“You’re looking a little less pathetic, kid,” said one of the men, and I looked over at him to see one of the tallest people I’d ever seen—and was that a _gun arm?_ —and he grunted, scratching the back of his head with his normal hand. “Kids just shouldn’t look that bad. Not even in the slums…”

“Oh, save me!” came a cry from the large Moogle doll across the fire. I watched and gaped as a cat—a _cat_ —climbed up on top of the doll’s head and straightened the crown on its head. “If you’re going to go into another speech about how ‘My Marlene is the smartest, most beautiful little girl in all of Midgar’, I swear, I’ll take my microphone and shove it—”

“Shut y’mouth!”

“Barret, Cait Sith, knock it off. Yuffie? I’m Tifa. Why don’t you come sit down so you can tell us your story?” I looked at the brunette who could only be defined as a _life-support system for breasts_ , and nodded, taking another step forward before dropping down into a cross-legged position. Aeris went and sat down next to a large red…liondogthing with a _flaming tail._ Oh my _gawd_ , what was this, a traveling _circus?_

“Um… has Aeris told you anything?” I asked quietly, looking around. The only one who hadn’t spoken yet, a blond guy who had a sword that was _as tall as I was_ and hair in gravity defying spikes, answered.

“No. All she said was that it wasn’t her place to explain, and you would tell us. Why did you attack us?”

“To answer that, I need to explain why I was in the forest in the first place… I, uh, I have something the Wutai call Spirit Sight, although that’s a really misleading name… Um, basically, whenever you interact with something, a part of you—emotions, overwhelming thoughts—it rubs off. It clings to the object, or place.

“Spirit Sight… Well, you’re sensitive to the remnants. And—when I first got it, I was in a place—” I shuddered. I couldn’t help it. “I—it—oh, _gawd—_ ”

“Yuffie?” Ignoring Tifa, I continued.

“T-there had been so many people killed there, a-and I—”

“Yuffie.” I looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. Aeris inclined her head slightly towards the liondogthing beside her, and as I watched, he spoke again, his voice light and rough and yet _soothing_. “I have heard of this Spirit Sight—could you tell me what you feel from Cosmo Canyon?”

I spoke, trying to work out _talking_ liondogthings in my mind. “Um—well, the thing that Aeris did that helped me is blocking out everything, but I was here just after—um, _that_ happened. Would that work?” At his nod, I thought back. “Um… There was pain and envy. Someone hated their father—and—”

“Thank you.” With that, the liondogthing put his head back on his legs and looked into the Cosmo Candle as if he would find answers to life, the universe, and everything there.

“What was _that_ about, Reddy-Red?” the cat sitting on top of the Moogle asked. “Hey, does it have anything to do with that trip you and Cloud and Bugenhagen went on this morning?”

“…perhaps,” the liondogthing—Red?—replied. “She does indeed possess the ability she claims to, however.”

“ _What?”_ I yelped, furious. “I don’t _believe_ this—if you’re not going to believe me—”

Red turned to look at me— _oh,_ wow, _he’s only got_ one eye—and spoke calmly in reply. “I beg your pardon. While I have been raised to believe in the spiritual, the others have not had the benefit of my experiences. They were more than likely skeptical about your claim.”

“Oh…” I looked down at my hands and thought about it for a bit, then looked at the other people around the fire. Tifa was trying to hide the embarrassment on her face and was failing, but she nodded, and spiky-hair-guy-with-the-mega-SWORD-who-never-introduced-himself just nodded. Both the cat _and_ the Moogle shrugged at the same time, and the big black guy—Barret—shook his head uncomfortably.

“Shit, kid, I don’t know _anything_ about this crap.” 

* * *

After they pulled me off Barret, as I had been doing my best to beat some knowledge of “this crap” into his head, I sat down and explained the rest of my story, ending with getting stuck in that forest for close to four years.

“So… basically, anywhere people have been for a while affects you?” Spiky-haired guy asked.

“Kinda… If the emotion is really strong, like—um, if the emotion is really strong, then it takes less time for it to, uh, stick, I guess? I don’t know how to explain it… I don’t really understand it myself.” I shrugged. “So, Spikes, have I explained enough?”

Spiky-haired guy had a bewildered look on his face. “Spikes?”

“Well, yeah. You didn’t introduce yourself—what do you want me to call you—‘Hey, you, the one with the _freaking huge_ sword’?”

Cait Sith cracked up, laughing so hard he fell off the head of the Moogle. “Freaking huge is _right_ —Cloud, are you _compensating?!_ ”


	5. Yuffie Babble Day

Later, after I got told to “go away so we can decide what to do” and Aeris showed me where they were staying, I sat on one of the beds and wondered where the hell I was going to find the Materia I needed. If I just got enough to fill the Crown, then people would start taking more pride in our past, right? I mean, the Materia from the Crown… Every ruler has had to master at least one to put in it. The souls of the past…

And though Shinra didn’t know it, the whole throne room? Socketed for Materia. Anyone within arm’s reach of the throne can cast what is _hundreds_ of years of collecting Materia. Or at least _could._

They should have burnt down the building, but they didn’t. A pity for them, because…

If we’re ever in that kind of situation again, I’ll make _sure_ we have a chance to strike back.

I _will_.

But there’s still the problem of where I’d _find_ that much Materia…

A knock on the door followed by it opening caught my attention, and Aeris poked her head in.

“We’ve decided… would you mind if we came in?” When I shook my head, she smiled and walked in, followed by Spikes—Cloud.

Cloud ran one hand through his hair, which did _nothing_ to flatten it, and shifted his weight to one leg. “You can come with us, if you choose, but at the moment we don’t have the money to spare to supply you with a weapon at the moment—can you do that yourself?”

I nodded—one of the things Dad has insisted on before I left was to give me “enough money to keep you going for a while”—which, actually, if I spent sparingly, would hold me for a _year_. Or _longer_.

…One good thing about tourism is that it brings in money, I guess. I just don’t want my country to be _completely_ dependant on it.

Now _there’s_ an idea. Build a small replica of a village, and anyone who _enjoyed_ doing the tourism stuff could work there, and we could live in peace—I’ll have to pass that on to dearest Daddy.

“Good,” he said, and dug in his pocket. I watched, not exactly sure what he was doing until he pulled out a small drawstring bag, which he tossed to me. It felt like there were marbles, or something else that was round in it, and frowning, I opened it, and poured some of the objects out into my hand.

Small glowing round balls lay in my palm, green and yellow and blue, and I stared at them for a second in shock before looking up. “What…?”

“Well, it didn’t look like you had any Materia with you, so here are some of our spares. This will be enough, won’t it? We have more if it isn’t,” Aeris explained, smiling.

Oh, _gawd_.

I needed Materia, but I hadn’t known where to find it.

— ** _I, Yuffie Kisaragi, swear upon Leviathan’s Crown_** —

I was joining these people, and they were _giving me Materia, and they had more if it wasn’t enough_.

— ** _that I will find Materia to fill the void_** —

And, oh, _gawd_ they were Aeris’ friends, and I _owed her_.

— ** _left by those that Shinra stole._** —

I—oh, _gawd._

— **I have not forgotten my vow. _I_ will _restore Wutai to its former glory, no matter_ what _it takes._** —

Leviathan help me…

* * *

We set out the next day—“Let’s mosey”, quoth the Cloud. Mosey? Who _says_ that? Our, ah, _illustrious_ leader, apparently.

We got into a vomit-comet—buggy, excuse me, and I got horribly sick, and no one wanted to sit next to me.

After we stopped for a break—a mere half hour after we set out—I got moved up out of the back into the passenger seat, and Things Went Well From There, because that helped. Somehow.

I want to say I was a big cheerful ball of fun, but I _wasn’t_ , given the dilemma I was in. To steal, or not to steal?

I hate how life goes, sometimes.

“So…” I started, tired of waiting for someone to talk. This was a silent bunch, apparently… well, except for Aeris and Tifa talking about clothes, and Barret and Cait Sith sniping at each other, and Cloud humming tunelessly to himself—okay, so I was tired of waiting for someone to talk to _me_. Having lived in a _forest for four years_ , I was understandably behind on fashions, so I couldn’t join in. And I didn’t feel like joining in with the current topic of discussion, the Fine Art of Belching. “Where are we headed?”

Suddenly, the only sound was Red’s soft snoring from the floor in back, and I looked over my shoulder to see everyone was looking at Cloud. I turned to look at Cloud, too.

Cloud was trying to strangle the steering wheel. When he finally answered, it was in a voice that was low and tense and angry. “We’re going to Nibelheim.”

* * *

I was, as could be imagined, not pleased at _all_. I should have known, given that we were going _north_ — _of course_ they’re not going to Nibelheim, Yuffie, there must be a nice Materia cave in that general direction—yeah, just _keep telling yourself that._

“W-wait, we aren’t, we aren’t really, right? Please? You—you told me what happened there, I can’t—I won’t—” I was Not Making Sense. It was Yuffie Babble Day.

“We _have to_. Sephiroth went this way, and there’s no other way through the mountains.”

“Stop this thing. I’m getting out. I’m not going, I won’t, _you can’t make me._ ”

“Yuffie, you said that what Aeris did has blocked out everything, didn’t you?”

“I’m not going, _no no no no—_ oh, _gawd_ please don’t make me go!” I was, to put it in the politest way, the slightest bit hysterical.

Cloud pulled the buggy to a stop, and I got out as quickly as I could, tripping over my own feet before scrambling back up. Someone called something from behind me, but I wasn’t listening.

All of a sudden, everything got

very

slow

and

I

couldn’t

move

but then, I found the world moving at its normal pace, and I was standing in front of Aeris, who had her staff in one hand, and someone—Cloud?—was standing behind me with his hands on my shoulders, keeping me in place.

“No,” I managed. “Please don’t make me go.”

“Yuffie, if you want to help us, you’ll have to come with us. I’m sorry—but I know that if my protections on your mind break, I will be able to restore them. Just stay close to me.”

“I—”

“Yuffie, you’re either going to have to come with us, or we’ll have to part ways. We don’t have the time to spend a month working through the Nibel Mountains just so we can bypass Nibelheim. It won’t take long—it burnt down five years ago, after all. All we need to do is walk through it, which will take five minutes. You can do that, can’t you?”

I swallowed, and nodded. I didn’t want to say, “Oh, hey, you know that fire? Shinra’s trying to cover it up—they were rebuilding it when I was here four years ago, you know, about the time _my life turned to shit_ ”, because, you know, they probably _wouldn’t believe me._

“Are you still going to come with us?” Aeris asked, compassion shining in her eyes. I nodded again, and Cloud let go of my shoulders at that, and slung one arm around them instead.

“Come on—at least you don’t have to worry about being cornered by Auntie Edweena—she used to keep me in her kitchen for _hours_ when I was a kid, telling me about the good old days, and how my father used to be such a _nice_ young man…”


	6. Self-Deception Can Be Fun

I’d been hoping that maybe Shinra had decided that it was too much of a bother to rebuild Nibelheim—that it _was_ just burnt down, like Cloud had said, but as usual, I was trying to delude myself.

Things went to hell when we got close enough to see buildings where there shouldn’t be any, but I ignored it, as I was trying _very_ hard to tune out that heartbeat in my head, which was growing louder from the muted throbbing it had been since I settled in my forest.

“What the _hell_ ,” Cloud hissed, once again trying to kill the steering wheel with his bare hands. Gloved hands, whatever.

“I thought you said this place was burnt down?” Red asked, peering between the two front seats out the windshield.

“It _was._ I can remember… the heat of the flames…”

 _Go away,_ I muttered to the heartbeat. _Go away go away go away. Aeris did that thing to shield me, why are you still_ there?

It sped up for a few beats, then leveled out again.

I’d been concentrating so fiercely on trying to block out that heartbeat that I didn’t notice we’d pulled up outside of the outer edge of buildings. Tifa touched my shoulder lightly, and I jumped before realizing we’d arrived. Not feeling very cheerful _at all_ , I climbed out of the buggy and looked around.

There were quite a few buildings, including That One On The Hill—which I looked away from _right quick_ —and there were a few people out and about, chatting when they passed.

Oh, and don’t forget the creepy as hell _people in black cloaks._ That might be the _slightest bit_ important.

One was slumped against a well, sprawled like he’d just fallen there, dead, and no one had bothered to check on him, to see if he was all right or if he needed help. One hand was visible, pale skin against the dark cloak, and a vivid red tattoo stood out against his skin.

It was a tattoo of “X”.

“What…” Tifa began, and swallowed. “What’s going _on_ here? It burned down, I _know_ it did…”

“This isn’t some kind of dream, is it?” Barret asked, as shocked as everyone else.

I opened my mouth to speak up—I can’t remember for the life of me what I was going to say now, but it must have seemed important at the time—and then closed it when I heard an echo, a ghost whisper— **why is he** —

I shivered.

“Yuffie, are you all right?” I jumped—Aeris had walked up to my side without me noticing.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, looking over the town and seeing another person in black, and another, and another, and _another_ — “Who are they?” I asked, my voice a mere whisper. “ _What_ are they?”

“I don’t know,” Aeris replied, just as quietly.

Cloud had strode over to one of the people—one of the _normal_ people, not Them Of The Black Cloaks—and was talking to him, gesticulating wildly, but to no effect, it seemed. The man was shaking his head, and then when Cloud turned away, he turned and rushed into one of the buildings.

A few seconds later, the curtains on one of the windows stirred slightly and I could just barely see someone peering out. Before I could point it out to someone, the person at the window stepped back and all that was left was a slightly swaying piece of cloth.

“ _Hey_ —” I heard Cloud say indignantly, and I spun to see him standing, one of the _people in black cloaks_ gripping one of his arms tightly.

“Sephiroth… the mansion…”

— **take them to the** —

“What—“ Cloud said, then staggered backwards as the person slumped against him, a puppet whose strings had been cut. I followed as the others rushed over to him, to reach him as he laid the person out on the cobblestones— **still sane, aren’t** —and turned the hands over to find another tattoo.

“VII”.

“Sephiroth… here? It figures…” Cloud murmured, looking down at the person. “This _is_ where it all began…

“…let’s go.”

* * *

Once it sank in we were going to That House On The Hill, I threw a small fit—“I’m not going in there!”—but Cloud had a cunning counter-argument—“Fine. Go your own way.”—so I went with them.

There was something about that mansion that just _freaked me out_. I don’t know what it was, except for the feeling that horrible things had happened here— **dying** —and that no amount of time would erase anything that the people here had done.

The heartbeat was getting louder with every step toward that building, echoing through my head and distracting me— **deserve this, I’m a** —from the discussion that was going on between the others.

Once we stepped into the mansion, though— **never get out** —everything clicked.

“Guys, wait, there’s someone here,” I gasped, looking around the foyer, broken furniture and dust everywhere.

“Of _course_ there is,” Cloud replied impatiently. “Sephiroth.”

“ _No,_ ” I replied, taking a step forward. “Someone _else._ I—he’s… having a nightmare…?”

“…There appears to be a note here,” Red said from one of the small rooms off the main foyer. We all trooped into the room, and Tifa, being the first one there, picked up the envelope.

“There’s a piece of paper in here…” she said, then looked up. “Should I read it?”

“ _Yes,_ ” I replied, but she didn’t start until Cloud had nodded.

“‘I must get rid of all those who stand in the way of my research. Even that one from the Turks…I scientifically altered him, and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area.

“‘But… this is only a game. If you don’t want you participate, you don’t have to…’ That’s all it says,” Tifa said, and flipped the paper over. “There are some hints here.”

Everyone gathered around, and then split up. I elected to stay in the room that the note was found it, to look closer at it. Once I’d skimmed over the front of the page again— **lock you here** —I turned it over and looked at the list of clues. Squinting at the last hint, I thought I saw the impression of something written below it. Looking around, I saw a candle lying on its side on the floor. It was the work of a second to light it, and then I held the piece of paper close, but not _too_ close to the flame.

I smiled in satisfaction as dark words began to appear on the paper.

“Yuffie, we’ve found part of what I think is part of the combination to a safe…” Red said, looking into the room.

“So did I,” I replied, holding up the paper and showing him the new hint.

He smiled, which was a fierce look on his scarred face. “Let’s find the others, then.”

We ran into Cloud and Aeris on the stairs—“We found—” “So did we,”—and then went to find Tifa and Barret. They, along with Cait Sith, were standing in a room on the second floor staring at a safe.

“Hey, we found—” Barret started, then looked at us more closely. “You guys too, huh?”

A chorus of “yes” answered him, and he stepped out of the way for Cloud, so he could look at the safe.

He fumbled with entering the numbers we helpfully shouted out, then jumped back with a yelp.

“What happened?” Cait Sith asked, leaning forward from his perch on the Moogle.

“It _shocked me_ ,” Cloud said, shaking his hand furiously.

“It might be that it’s got a timer on it,” I offered, peering at the safe. Cloud turned and Looked at me.

“We _should_ be finding Sephiroth,” he said, then gestured towards the safe. “You open it. I’m going to go take Aeris and Red with me to go look for Sephiroth.”

I was already kneeling beside the safe when they left, turning the knob easily. Hitting the last number in the combination, I opened it, but then— **a monster, horrible** —some _thing_ came out of the safe and—

Tifa screamed, and I got my muscles working and scrambled backwards, reaching over my shoulder for my new shuriken, throwing it at the monster. The first hit was _mine_.


End file.
